PWC UK 2013 Sustainability Report

PwC UK, the professional services firm, has launched its 2013 Sustainability Report, which includes the first valuation of the total contribution of a business to the UK.

Using the firm’s own Total Impact Measurement and Management Framework (TIMM), it has estimated the value of the firm’s economic, social, tax and environmental contribution during 2012/13 at over £10m per day or £3.7bn in total.

PwC’s TIMM framework, launched in September, is the result of a three-year collaboration between economists and other specialists at PwC and its clients, looking at how to measure organisations’ total contribution to society. Unlike traditional financial reporting, TIMM measures the value of an organisation’s wider contribution to other businesses, communities, the environment and public finances, including through its supply chain and through the spending of its employees and suppliers in the economy. It’s designed to help businesses analyse their performance or investment options in a much more rounded way, by quantifying potential trade-offs between economic, fiscal, environmental or social impacts.

The report shows that PwC’s total impact is 40% higher than its annual revenues, and four times the level of its profits, announced in September.

The firm’s economic impact forms 72% of the total and is valued at over £2.6bn: it reflects the value by PwC directly, through spending in its supply chain and as a result of the spending of its employees and those of its suppliers.

PwC contributed £960m to the UK public finances primarily through payment and collection of taxes on profit, or associated with its employees and property.

The firm’s social impact through the professional qualification its employees are expected to achieve was estimated at £174m. This mainly recognises the impact of the firm’s professional training programmes on developing skills which are expected to contribute to the wider economy by enhancing the potential earnings of PwC’s people in the future after working at the firm.

The firm’s environmental impact is relatively small and mostly arises from carbon emissions linked to travel and energy use, and is valued at £84m. This figure is subtracted from the firm’s total impact value as a ‘cost’.

How PwC uses its skills and network to promote responsible business and encourage a sustainable economy

How the firm’s community programmes are supporting disadvantaged groups and social entrepreneurs, increasing aspiration and confidence, and developing job–readiness skills

Progress in the firm’s ongoing work to support a diverse and inclusive business culture

Progress in decoupling its environmental impacts from business growth with real, absolute reductions in energy, emissions and waste. For example, this year sees an 8% reduction in PwC’s carbon footprint, 13% in electricity consumption, and continued reductions in waste, having achieved zero waste to landfill in 2012. The firm recycles 74% of its waste, and in addition, recycled all of the metal, floor tiles and furniture during the refurbishment of PwC’s Embankment Place office in London.

PwC chairman and senior partner Ian Powell, commented:

“If business is to build broad and sustainable trust in society, we need to be transparent about more than financial data, we need to share information that encompasses the full range of a business’ impacts, and improve understanding of those impacts on wider society.

Bridget Jackson, head of corporate sustainability at PwC said:

“Examining where and how we are having an impact, while a lot tougher in terms of measurement, is much more revealing. It’s helping us understand how we can focus and plan our activities to deliver greater impact and sustainable results which affect a much wider group of stakeholders.”

In the UK, PwC employs around 18000 people, in over 35 locations, delivering tax, assurance, and advisory services. We’re part of a network of firms in 158 countries with more than 180,000 people.

For more on PwC’s corporate sustainability programmes or performance, visit www.pwc.co.uk/corporatesustainability. For more information on the total impact measurement and management methodology, visit www.pwc.com/totalimpact. The firm’s specialist sustainability and climate change practice works with public, private and NGO organisations worldwide. Follow us @PwC_UK or @pwcclimateready to find out more.

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